Maddie with an M
by LikeTheSwallow
Summary: Maddie already had lots to worry about. Her Uncle is taking away her brothers one by one, and the rest are struggling to pay the bills. Add two hot new boys and a crazy best friend to that mix, and you have chaos. SethXOC EmbryXOC Cullen included in the story
1. Chapter 1 - Of Pen and Shopping

Maddie with an M

~Sunday~

"Hurry up!" Pen called over her shoulder, and I trailed miserably behind her. In all fairness, Pen was an only child, and she only made me do this once a year. An array of sewn fabrics of different shapes and textures lay in my arms, looking like I was carrying a large animal's burrow. I knew more than half of the clothes were two small for me, and the other half would cling to me like a second skin.

"Maddie! The more you dawdle the longer we'll be in here!" Pen reminded me. I sighed, and picked up my pace. Summer holidays started in a week, and in Pen's opinion I had to leave a good impression for next year.

Pen led the way like the baton twirler at a parade, walking in the middle of the aisle like it was no one's business. The curls of her dark red hair bounced as her sandals clicked obnoxiously against the faded yellow linoleum floor. It was a really good thing we were friends.

"Try on the dark jeggings first with the yellow shirt." She said, pushing me into the change room. I set down the clothes and extracted the needed articles from the pile, taking off my cargo pants and school sweatshirt. I held the jeggings out in front of me for a moment before putting in one leg, then the other, than hopping around until the waist matched mine, and I buttoned them up. Next was the yellow shirt, the kind of yellow that was both sunny and puke yellow at the same time. I threw it on, frowning as I pulled at it around my tummy. It was clingy, all right.

"Come out, Maddie!" Pen called in a sing-song voice. I opened the door a crack, making sure that the coast was clear, and let Pen take a look.

"Yuck. Everything in the no pile." She said, and I trudged back into the dressing room.

After discarding the sunny puke garment and the awful jeggings, I tried the jeans and a tank top with a sweater.

"Better?" I asked hesitantly as I slowly opened the door. Pen nodded furiously as she tugged at the jeans and then the sweater.

"That's all yes pile." She said, and pushed more clothes into my arms, her brown eyes twinkling with laughter.

"'Kay." I grumbled, closed the door, and shed the clothes again without looking at myself in the mirror. No one needs such a constant reminder of their un-attractiveness.

Thirty minutes later, Pen draped the yes pile items over my shoulder, and dragged me towards the shoes.

"You know, I do have shoes Penelope" I said, and she stopped, turned and glared at me for a moment at the mention of her full name, before returning to a cheerful smile.

"No you don't; I had Willie toss your sneakers and awful boots into the trash last night."

"Pen! I liked those boots!" I complained, and the sales lady from the makeup department shot us a glare as we walked by.

"Madeline, I love you. I tolerate that old blue jacket with the permanent grass stains, the way you let your fluffy fair billow in the wind like an un-sheared sheep, and your filthy canvas backpack. I will not tolerate those disgusting, ugly boots. No discussion, this is for your own good." I groaned, and would have crossed my arms if I could have crossed them across my pile of clothing, but there was little I could do to keep the pile on my shoulder in the first case.

" I have a feeling that you'll be finally getting a boyfriend this summer. And you need some proper shoes to wear around." She sang, yanking off my shoe and checking the size. I set the clothes down on a bench.

"8 1/2." I said helpfully, and she raced off through the aisles to grab some 'proper' shoes. As I said before, it's a mighty good thing that I like Pen so much. Otherwise I don't know how I'd put up with her.

Pen came back with a stack of boxes. Thankfully, half of them were for her. I tried them on, glad that the shoes were at least closer to my tastes.

"You can't go wrong with those leather sandals. They're gorgeous." I nodded, placing them with the yes pile.

Somehow I convinced Pen to let me buy white and blue skater shoes, as well as another canvas backpack.

"You and your bags." She muttered, like I'm the crazy one.

We got up to the cash and split the price half and half. Money wasn't an issue for Pen, and I knew for a fact that my uncle gave her money to spend on me on our shopping excursions. My uncle also thought that I was going to allow him to pick out my husband. Yeah, he's a bit of a nut. A rich nut, though, and he doesn't meddle with me too often.

"I think it's time for some victory ice cream!" Pen cheered, and pulled me and our bags to the car.

It was a long Sunday afternoon.

When I got home, removed the tags and shoved my brothers' clothes in the dryer so I could wash mine, I had time to ponder. Pen couldn't be serious. No one would want to date me.

Oh, me from the past, you're so naïve.


	2. Chapter 2 - Baked Goods and Weird Looks

~Monday~

"Maddie, Maddie, MADELINE! HER NAME, IT RHYMES WITH CLEMENTINE!" I groaned and threw my pillow over my head as Eli banged on my door.

"Get up Monkey! Time for school!" I threw my pillow at the door.

"I had five minutes until my alarm went off!" I complained, rolling out of bed and landing ungracefully on my hardwood floor with a thump. I crawled to my door and hung onto the knob to pull myself up. I unlocked the door and yawned in Eli's face. He poked my tongue and gave a flourish of a bow.

"Ben and I are leaving for work, your highness. Enjoy a fabulous last week of grade ten."

"You're a jerk."

"Love you too!" Eli sauntered down the hallway, and I could hear the front door close. I rubbed my eyes and leaned against the door way. Wet footprint led from the bathroom door to Willie's room. There was undoubtedly no remaining hot water in the whole of Embertown. I padded into the bathroom, which tied for the most abused room in our house along with our kitchen. Four wet towels lay strewn across the floor like deflated sea lions, basking in the light of the single working fluorescent bulb.

"Jeremy! The light bulb's out in the bathroom again!" I shouted, and heard a mumbled 'fix it yourself' from downstairs. I pushed the towels into a corner with my foot, and opened the blinds so I could see. Next I used our hand towel to wipe off the steam and water from the mirror, and turned on the fan. I brushed my teeth and pulled a brush through my hair. When I looked presentable, I jogged downstairs to grab some clothes. I opened the dryer door to find an abundance of male dress shirts.

"Kevin! Where are my clothes? I had them drying last night!" I shouted, taking out his laundry and hanging up his precious shirts on some hangers.

" I put them back in the washer because I needed to dry my work shirts." He called back from the front door. I groaned and checked the washer, where lay my mostly soaked clothes.

"What am I gonna wear now, Kev?" I growled as I stalked back to my room.

"Sorry Monkey! Have a good day!" I heard the front door open and close.

"Maddie, hurry up if you want a ride to school." Willie said, knocking on my door. I spotted the pile of new clothes. Well crap.

" Just a sec!" I shouted, pulling the most normal pair of jeans from the pile and a tank top. I grabbed my new skater shoes and my bag, rushing down the stairs.

"Girls." Willie complained as I hopped into his car.

"Hypocrite much? I didn't spend an hour in the bathroom this morning!" That shut him up for the ride to school, and I had time to pull my shoes on and try not to think about how I looked in my new clothes.

"You actually look like a girl, Monkey." Said Willie.

"Shut up."

"Just sayin'." He pulled by the front door and I jumped out.

"I have work after school." I reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. Uncle's going to be home for dinner, though, don't forget." I mentally cringed, nodded in real life, and exited the car, heading for the herd of kids entering the school.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

"Madeline, so nice of you to show up this morning." Ms. Berry drawled as I tried to sneak to the back of the class.

"Sorry Ms. Berry, it won't happen again." I said, using my most used sentence of English class. Pen rolled her eyes and tried to hide a smile as I sat down.

"Yes, yes, Miss Madeline, we've heard it all before. Now that you are already late, would you be so kind as to take the attendance down for me?" I nodded and quickly rose from my seat at the back, carefully manoeuvring the sea of backpacks along my way to her desk. She handed me the folder, and I resisted the urge to skip our of her class.

It was like getting the last chocolate pudding on a cookie-only day at the cafeteria. A rare and unexpected treat on a Monday morning. I took my time getting to the office, as we weren't really doing anything in class today except going over our essays which we had gotten back on Friday. I got 97% on mine, much to the horror of Stacy Turner, the class genius, who got 95% and announced to the whole class that I'd probably copy-and-pasted mine from some website. She was a bit of a poop-sock sometimes.

On most Mondays, the office is empty and Ms. Riley is busy listening to Elvis Presley tracks on her old radio while she works her way through the day's crossword puzzle. But today was different. Today roughly a dozen people stood on the student side of the counter while Ms. Riley fluttered around her desk in a panic. I cautiously entered the office, dropping the attendance folder in the basket.

"Good morning Ms. Riley." I said, and she turned to me with her eyes as wide as an owl's and her mouth slightly open.

"Maddie dear, do you remember where the course selection sheets are? I can't seem to find them... She got quieter as her face began to redden, and the dozen collected people looked from her to me. I knew Ms. Riley wasn't that good at her job. Heck, she didn't need to be most of the time. There's barely six hundred kids at our school, and no one really causes much grief for the office.

"Didn't you have them moved to the cabinet with the guidance sheets?" I offered helpfully. I had helped around the office for my volunteer hours before, and I knew darn well were those sheets were. A light went off in her head.

"Oh yes! I remember now. Thank you Maddie, you're such a doll." And she produced the sheets from the cabinet just as Mr. Peters came out of his office.

"Ah, you must be Dr. Cullen. Nancy told me you'd be around today with your kids..." Mr. Peters reached over the counter and shook one of the dozen's hand, and I finally looked at them. Wow. And I thought Pen was pale. Most of them were as pale as the vampires in the crappy old horror films Ben and Kevin liked. One of them looked over at me, with the weirdest colour of orange hair I'd ever seen, and raised an orange eyebrow. Whoops, I was staring. That's awkward. I looked away from him and noticed the four that didn't belong. They were tan, and the three boys were built big. They all had dark hair, and one of the boys turned to me. Dark eyes to match.

"Miss Child, what are you doing here?" Mr. Peter asked, feigning curiosity. I disliked him, but he loathed me. Thanks, bratty older brothers that messed with his head before I even got to high school.

"I came to drop off the attendance for Ms. Berry." I said without missing a beat, knowing from experience that hesitation meant detention. He nodded, unhappy that I had answered correctly.

"Well, off to class then." He said, and turned back to Dr. Cullen. Ms. Riley discreetly tossed me a lollipop and I stuck it in my pocket, turning to leave when I felt a pair of eyes on me. I turned to see one of the dozen, the shortest of the three tan boys, was watching me. When he caught my eye, he smiled shyly, and I smiled back with a little wave, before leaving the office. It was strange that we got transfer students at all at our school, in Embertown at all.

Let me put it this way; Embertown is an old mining town in the middle of nowhere, and now manufactures car parts and tires. Downtown always smells like burnt rubber, and it's three hours away from the closest town. The population is about 10 000, and it's cold enough to wear jeans year round. So as you can see, it's a mystery that anyone would want to move here. I wouldn't if I had the choice.

I reluctantly returned to class, hoping that the ginger kid wouldn't be in any of my classes next year. I nestled into Pen's arm.

"There's a flock of new kids in the office. Ms. Riley needed help finding the course selection papers." I answered her unspoken question.

"Were they cute?" She murmured as we faced the front, pretending to be paying attention as Ms. Berry circled something on the over head. I thought of the big tanned boys.

"There was a few cute ones. But there was this one creepy ginger kid." I murmured back, before chewing on my pen cap. Pen's eyebrows flew up past her bangs.

"A few? How many we're there?" She asked, pulling a new sheet out of her binder.

"Maybe ten?" I saw her look of shock turn to a look of evil planning. I looked into her brown eyes and could pretty much see the gears turning.

"So, there's got to be at least one single guy we can nab for you, and one for me if we get them fast." She licked her lips, and I shook my head.

"Maybe one for you if you don't act like a hatter in their presence." I responded under my breath, and she gave me a light kick under our table. I doodled a little picture of her with a top hat in the margin of her paper, and she drew me as the Cheshire Cat on my page.

"Those jeans look good on you. Good thing you had your new clothes to make a good first impression!" She said happily, and I rolled my eyes, but did agree.

I guess I'd have to thank Kevin for delaying the drying of my usual clothes.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Pen and I work at her family's bakery, Wylde's Breads and Pasteries. It was the closest Embertown had to a sweets shop, and most people just came for a slice of pie or a dozen cookies. Business wasn't overwhelming, but it was pretty steady. As a few old ladies quizzed Pen on the selection of bread, I noticed a large tanned form entering the shop, followed by two other tanned forms and a skinny, pale ginger girl who had to be creepy ginger boy's younger sister. The four entered the shop, and I decided to look busy so that they wouldn't talk to me. I'm not really one for starting conversations.

"Jake, can I get a cookie? Look, here's a little pink dog cookie!" The ginger girl knelt down by the glass case with the cookies, and I looked up to find the littlest tanned boy's eyes on me. He looked away quickly, and I could swear I could see a faint strip off pink across his nose and cheeks. Was he blushing?

"I thought they would never leave." Pen said, pooping up at my side as the two old ladies left the store. She was evaluating the boys that came in.

"Those are some of the new kids." She said, and I nodded.

"Wow, that girl's really pretty." Pen said, and carried on with wiping down the counter.

"Excuse me, how much are the dog cookies?" I turned and found one of the big tanned guys looking at me expectantly, and the other big tanned guy watching Pen. The small tanned guy was looking at me again.

"It's a dollar for half a dozen." I answered, and he pulled out his wallet.

"Seth, can you grab a loaf of bread? Esme's going to be mad if we don't come home with any actual food." The big tanned guy handed over a dollar bill, and I went behind the cookie counter and grabbed a little white box for the cookies.

"Six of the same?" I asked, and she nodded, practically bouncing.

"Thanks Jake!" She said, kissing his cheek. Okay. That one's Jake, and the little one is Seth. The last boy was now in a conversation with Pen, who was rolling her eyes and laughing at something he said.

"I'm Embry, by the way." He said to her. Well, that cleared that up. I handed the girl her cookies and Seth came up to the cash with a loaf of bread.

"Hello." I said, trying to be pleasant despite feeling a tad uncomfortable under his gaze.

"You're the girl from school." He stated as I scanned his bread.

"Um, yeah." I said. Wow, way to go socially awkward me.

"I'm Seth."

"Maddie." I replied quietly.

"Lottie?" He asked, and I sighed.

"No, Maddie. With an 'M'." I pressed my index fingers together, than curved them up and brought them straight down, to show an M. He nodded.

"Maddie. That's a nice name." He said slowly. At least we're both awkward.

"Um, thanks." I replied after a long pause.

"That'll be $2.67 please." I said, and Jake came to the cash and handed me some more bills. I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, and Pen buried her face in my neck.

"Our shift is over in five minutes. Wanna come over for dinner?" She murmured as I gave Jake his change. Embry was practically glaring at me, and Seth looked devastated. What the heck?

"I can't. My uncle's coming for dinner." Pen let go in disappointment, and trudged off, grabbing the inventory book on her way to the back.

"Can you close up then, party-pooper?" Pen asked, poking her head back in the front. I nodded, and she disappeared around back.

"Night." Jake said, as he ushered the others out of the bakery.

"Night." I said, my eyes trailing the strange new citizens of Embertown.


	3. Chapter 3 - Ice Cream and Coloured Glass

** wood-morning - Maddie and Pen are NOT a thing. Pen's just like a goofy sister, but the others interpret it differently.**

~Tuesday~

Dinner was terrible. Jeremy killed the whole pot of chicken Alfredo, Eli turned the green beans int some sort of disgusting soup, and Kevin sat at the table with his hands covering his face, pretending like he hadn't been crying.

Needless to say, our uncle wasn't very impressed when we ordered a pizza.

Kevin drove me to school today, his usually pressed dress shirt a little wrinkled in some places, not that I'd point it out. His suitcase had been hastily thrown into the back of the car, and the large keychain attached to the front jingled and his the door at every stop. We pulled up to the school, and I mechanically opened the door, and closed it. Kevin pushed his back into his seat and looked at me.

"You be good while I'm gone, hm? Don't give Jeremy and the others too much trouble." I nodded, my throat feeling like I'd swallowed today's newspaper.

"Love you."

"Love you too, Monkey."

I watched him drive away, not knowing I'd probably never see him again.

0 0 0 0 0 0

"We're skipping today. There is no way I'm sitting in a classroom all day, doing nothing, with a depressed best friends." Pen said, grabbing my arm.

"My uncle's going to kill me when he finds out," I said, but allowed myself to be tugged along like a rag doll as we quickly exited the old brick building.

"You're paying for ice cream." I told her as we reached Main Street. It was a good thing that my brothers all worked in the factories or out at farms about a half hour away. I'd be in so much trouble from them if they caught me.

"Did you even eat breakfast?" Pen asked as we linked arms.

"Kev usually makes breakfast." She stopped talking until we reached the store.

"Whatever looks the most unhealthiest for me."Pen said as I levitated towards the frozen section of the corner store. I picked out a single serving cup of chocolate caramel fudge brownie sundae and smartie sundae for me. Pen stood by the counter, chatting up the nice old lady who proceeded to show her pictures of her grandchildren. I looked around and grabbed a pack of gum and two little cartons of chocolate milk.

"Yummmmmm." Pen said, rubbing her hands together as I set our items on the counter. The old lady slowly began to check through our items.

"Didn't you have breakfast?" I asked, and she nodded. I raised an eyebrow at her. Her mother goes all out with breakfast.

"I have a separate desert stomach." She reminded me, and I nodded. She could eat practically anything without gaining weight.

"Thank you!" Pen said as I grabbed the bag with our purchases. We walked down to the park, and we cracked open breakfast.

"Was Jeremy mad when your Uncle said Kevin had to come work for him?" Pen asked between spoonfuls of ice cream goodness.

"He was livid. He asked Uncle if he enjoyed tearing our family apart." Pen's eyes widened.

"What did your Uncle say?"

"He asked if they enjoyed working eight hours a day, six days a week for crappy pay. He asked why Kevin couldn't hold a crappy job."

We dove back into silence.

"He also asked if I wanted to move in with them. He said there were more opportunities in Cabotville."

"Are you going to move?" Pen sounded horrified.

"Nope. Who would keep the house presentable?" I got up and tossed my empty ice cream carton in the garbage.

"That's true."

I sat back down and opened my drink.

"So what were you and Embry talking about yesterday?" I asked, proud that I remembered his name. Pen broke into a smile.

"You mean Hottie McHottie? My goodness, I could see his abs through his shirt!" Pen looked like she was drooling.

"So he's your type?" I asked. She lifted and eyebrow at me.

"Honey, he's everybody's type. He was telling me the lamest joke about a turtle. Okay, listen to this. How do turtles communicate?" She was practically bouncing. I sighed.

"I don't know." She smiled at me gleefully, about to spit out the answer when a low voice came from behind us.

"On their Shell Phones." We looked over to find Embry walking up to us, trailed by the dozen. I could easily pick out Jake and Seth.

"Shouldn't you two be at school?" Embry asked. Pen rolled her eyes.

"It's over in two days. It's not like we're doing anything." She justified, taking a sip of her drink. Embry rested his large hands on top of the bench, and I noticed how muscular his arms were. Wow.

"And one of Maddie's brothers moved today, so I'm trying to cheer hear up." Pen said, patting my shoulder. Seth wandered over to us.

"Oh. How many brothers do you have?" Seth asked.

"Too many." I answered automatically. Seth smiled.

"That's not a number." Embry reminded me, and I saw Jake and his girlfriend rush over to the swings.

"Jeremy, Ben, Eli, Kevin, Willie." I murmured, counting them off on my fingers.

"Five, then. That's a lot."

"I guess. They're not too bad, though. They're all old." Seth nodded, and Pen looked like she was busy scheming something.

"You're the youngest than?" I nodded, and Pen got up off the bench.

"Wanna see something awesome?" Pen asked Embry. He nodded, and she beckoned for him to follow her. Seth sat down with me, and I pulled my legs up and wrapped my arms around me chest.

"Where are they going?" Seth asked as they disappeared down a path into the forest.

"She's probably showing him the river. Five years ago, a glass truck crashed over the bridge, and all the coloured glass stuff fell into the river, so now it looks all rainbow-y." I explained, tugging at my new shoes.

"So. Um, nice shoes." He said, looking at my shoes.

"Er, thanks. They're new." He looked like he was thinking hard.

"You and Pen... Are you two a thing?" He blurted out suddenly. I'm sure I got massive owl eyes for a moment, before I burst out laughing. It took a minute to calm down, and Seth just looked worried.

"No way! I've known Pen since we were two. She's like my sister." He let out a breath, and a shaky laugh.

"Sorry. You two just looked kind off... Together, yesterday at the bakery." I shook my head and let my legs drop off the bench.

"Nah. Pen just does that because it used to freak me out. She teases me that one day it will be some creeper wrapping their arms around me, and I won't notice." We sat in silence for awhile, and I watched the rest of the dozen walk around the park, or sit together underneath the trees.

"Does Pen have a boyfriend?" Seth asked suddenly, and I felt a little disappointed.

"Nope." The two of us sat in awkward silence for a while, until we heard a scream. Seth and I looked at each other.

"That's Pen!" I said, standing up, and running down the pathway that I'd let her disappear down with a stranger over ten minutes ago.


	4. Chapter 4 - Nachos and Gravestones

~Wednesday~

"Did you pick up my report card?" Pen asked as I deposited a giant purple teddy bear to the abundance of gifts, flowers and balloons. She edged her way up, trying not to use her bandaged arms too much. I retrieved the official looking envelope from my bag and handed it to her.

"They said I could leave later tonight. Mom's gonna give me the skipping school lecture when I get home." Pen said, ripping open the envelope. I took a seat at the edge of her hospital bed.

"I though Embry was stabbing you with a knife or something." I murmured as I remembered yesterday. When I had gotten to the river, Pen was soaked in water and blood, a gash at her hairline coating her pale face in crimson liquid, blending in with her dark red hair.

"I felt like I'd been stabbed. Embry actually helped me out of the river, though. I shouldn't have been standing on the edge." I remember Pen falling to the side, and Embry grabbing her as Dr. Cullen appeared from behind with Seth. Pen had hundreds of pieces of multicoloured glass coming out of her arms, legs and side.

"Sorry for screaming like a banshee. I think I really scared you." Pen apologized. I rolled my eyes.

"Not your fault. And besides, I would have been screaming too."

"At least I took your mind off of Kevin."

"Mhm." I lied. Last night had been awful. Jeremy had been yelling at me for skipping, and Ben had been yelling at Jeremy for yelling at me. Eli had been yelling at both of them for yelling. When the yelling died down, Jeremy asked if I wanted Uncle to come back and take me to Cabotville. I went to my room. Eli left for his girlfriends house, and Ben went to his one of his friends' house. Willie brought me some leftover pizza, and we ate dinner in silence.

"Monkey?" I looked up from my bed. Willie stood in the doorway with the empty pizza box.

"Yeah?"

"I would have skipped school too."

"...Thanks."

Now I sat in Pen's hospital room, trying not to look upset.

"Knock knock." I looked up to see Embry and Seth in the doorway, followed by Jake and the creepy orange haired guy. The orange haired guy chuckled under his breath. Alright. I think he hears the voices.

And then he laughed.

"This is our brother Edward." Embry said stiffly. It sounded like a lie.

"We're not actually related. We're all adopted by Carlisle and Esme." Edward explained. Carlise must be Dr. Cullen's first name.

Embry went and sat down closer to Pen. He completely blocked my view, but I saw him pull a small pink teddy bear out of his pocket.

"How are your arms feeling?" He asked her. She shrugged.

"Better than yesterday, I guess. It just stings when I move them." She took the little bear from Embry, and I stand up.

"Maddie, where are you going? You just got here!" Pen whined from her bed. Edward and Jake both looked at me quizzically, and Seth looked worried. Embry couldn't care less as he turned back to Pen.

"Eli wanted me to get some groceries for dinner." I lied casually. I was good at the basic white lies; I'm fine, that doesn't make you look fat, you were too good for her anyways, I'm not upset. Pen raised an eyebrow, but let it go as I looked from her to Embry pointedly.

"Fine. I'll see you tomorrow anyway. Mom's go an make me go to school I bet." She said, shooing me off. Embry's brows furrowed.

"You shouldn't go to school in this state. You need rest, and it's not like you're dong anything in school." I heard him say as I grabbed my bag. Pen sighed dramatically.

"I know, right?" I slipped out of her hospital room and made my way to the stairs. Of course Pen was on the awkwardly built third floor, and the stairs leading down had been built in haste. I opened the door to the stairwell when Dr. Cullen walked out.

"Oh, Maddie. Hello again." He said cheerfully, clicking his pen and clipping it to his clip board.

"Hello." I murmured awkwardly. He was in my way.

"Here to see Penelope?" He asked, shifting his clip board under one arm. I nodded.

"That's good. Anyways, How are you feeling? You seemed really stressed yesterday." Well crap, if I'm stressed I'm only going to stand and chat about it to a total stranger when the sun rises from the west.

"I'm fine." I said, and went to walk by him.

"If you need to talk to someone, Maddie..." He trailed off, looking at me expectantly.

"I have five brothers. There is always a copious amount of people to talk to around my house." I said quickly, backing down the stairs. He gave me an adult look, the 'I'm worried and I care about you' look. It was really weird.

"Bye Dr. Cullen." I said quickly, with a little wave, and hurried down the stairs.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

I did end up swinging by the grocery store and grabbing some nacho chips, salsa, cheese and chocolate milk. Ben had texted me and told me to get something for dinner, because he and Jeremy were working late.

"Hey Madeline Clementine." Eli greeted me as I entered the kitchen with the groceries. Willie sat on the counter, drinking a cup of coffee.

"How was Pen?" Willie asked as I searched for the cheese grater.

"Good. A little sore, but not grumpy. Her boyfriends came to visit her." I muttered, throwing a cutting board on the counter along with the grater. I had to remind myself that it wasn't Pen's fault the she was so pretty. It wasn't Pen's fault that she was so funny and low maintenance. It wasn't Pen's fault that I was about as attractive as a possum in a tutu. It wasn't Pen's fault that Seth and Embry liked her.

"Don't kill the cheese, Maddie." He said, and I looked down at my hands. I had already grated most of the cheese, and the rest of the cheese was being crushed in my hand. I let the orange blob drop from my hand, and I headed to the front hall.

"Maddie, where are you going?" Eli called from the kitchen.

"Out!"

"Be back by-" I slammed the door behind me , and walked off in a huff. I don't know why I was so mad. After about ten minutes of pointlessly walking around the block, I found myself walking along the dirt road called Gray Street. It was getting dark, and the coolness of the night began to simmer down my madness. I found myself standing at the open gates of the graveyard. I took a nervous look around, and stepped in.

Most of the names were old English names. Arthur, Clark, Glenham, Sheraton, and other such names marked the drab ashen stones. Near the back, the grave markers became larger, shinier, and lovelier. I wandered to the back and found the gravestones marked Child. I sat by the double marker and cleaned the dirt off with my sleeve, showing that beneath me lay Elric and Annamarie Child. My parents.

"I wish you were still here." I mumbled to the names, a small part of me glad that they did not whisper back. I crawled over to the grave marker and leant against it. I'll just shut my eyes for a second...


	5. Chapter 5 - Dead Rubber Enchiladas

~Thursday~

I woke up cold. My jeans were soaked from dew on the grass, and my shirt was doing little to keep me warm as I hugged a smooth marble block. I rubbed my eyes, and then bolted up. Eli's gonna kill me, if Jeremy doesn't get to me first. I am in SO much trouble.

"Crap crap crap!" I grumbled as I stood and almost fell over. Both my legs were asleep, and I smacked them and shook the like two jell-o noodles. The graveyard was dark, but the crescent moon was clear above, and shone down like a night light in the sky. The shin-high fog, however, was doing little to mask the fact that I was alone. In a graveyard. At night.

I shivered my way to the front entrance when I heard a loud howl. Okay, spooky, but it's not like I'm not right beside a forest.

And then I saw it. It was the size of a horse, huge and shaggy, with sandy fur. It came out of the forest and looked directly at me. Oh my glob, it's going to kill me.

So most people in this situation run like heck. For some inexplicable reason, drop to the ground like Wile E. Coyote off a cliff. I lay still, with my eyes shut, and try to look like I'm not breathing. I can feel the ground shake as it approaches, and I do my best to fight the urge to open my eyes and check how close it is. My muscles tighten as it breathes heavily on me, it's warm breath warming my neck and shoulders. It prods me with its nose, so that I'm laying flat on my back, and it backs up and howls. Please tell me it's not calling the rest of its buddies to come eat me!

Then I heard an engine. A car is coming! May it hit the thing so hard it dies without a fight, and I am spared. The ground shakes violently as it bounds back into the woods. I lay still for another minute until headlights shine in my eyes and I sit up. It's too dark to make out the car, but I hear the door open.

"Maddie!" It's Pen. She raced out of the car and collapsed beside me, wrapping her bandaged arms around me. I see two others get out of the car.

"You okay, Maddie?" Embry asks from the car, and Nessie walks over to me. Pen stands up.

"Your brothers are just..." Pen trailed off.

"Freaking out, no doubt." I mutter, shakily getting up. Nessie tilted her head.

"Are you alright, Maddie? You look very pale." Nessie said. I shiver and look back towards the forest. If I tell them I saw a giant wolf, they'll make me go to the hospital. In the wing with the padded rooms.

"Fine. I'm fine." I said quickly, and Pen puts her bandaged hands on her hips.

"Maddie." She growled, and I shot her a pleading look.

"I'm cold. Can I go home now?" Embry and Nessie got back in the car, so I took that as a yes.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

I don't remember falling asleep. It came as a shock as Willie lifted me out of Embry's car, and I could hear Eli crying in the background.

"Thank you for finding her." I heard Jeremy say. I could hear Ben too, but it sounded like he was talking to Eli. I heard our front door swing open, and I felt Willie carry me up stairs before placing me in my bed.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

I woke up a few hours later to find four make-shift beds abandoned on my floor, and a note. I procrastinated in bed for a while, feeling a cold coming on, and finally rolled out of bed with a thump. I crawled over to the note and read it.

Monkey,

If you do that ever again, we will chain you to the support beam in the basement and have you homeschooled until you're thirty. At least take your phone with you next time.

Pen wanted us to remind you that school officially ends at 1 pm, and you have work at 2pm.

XXXXOOOO

Jeremy

Ben

Eli

Willie

P.S. : Leftover chicken Alfredo is in the fridge.

Um, score! They didn't even yell at me!

I'm kinda shocked.

I put on some more of the new clothes Pen and I had bought, and headed down stairs. It was already 12:45, so I needed to leave for work soon. I reheated the leftovers and paced around the kitchen, humming and filling up a mug with hot chocolate powder and water. When my Alfredo was done heating up in the microwave, I put in my hot chocolate and began eating. By the time I had cleared my plate, the hot chocolate was done. I was really hungry.

I sipped my hot chocolate as I walked around my house, randomly tidying until 1:30. I knew I had to get there early and mentally prepare myself Pen's interrogation.

I threw on my shoes and a jacket and locked the house, heading for the shed were I'd find my ancient bike. I belonged to my grandmother at one point. Apparently at a point where copper and hot pink looked like a good colour pallet.

I pulled out the rusting metal contraption and continued on my way to the bakery, squeaking like the tin man from the Wizard of Oz.

I reached my destination a few minutes early, but fiddled outside until I had to go inside.

Pen was waiting for me.

I walked past her briskly, grabbing my apron and name tag.

"Maddie." Pen sang, her face lighting up into the grin saved for her gossip-and-secrets mode. I nervously tied up my apron.

"I went for a walk. Fell asleep, walked to the road, and you picked me up. Ta-da." She pouted, flipping her curly red hair over her shoulder before tying it up in a ponytail.

"I will get it out of you eventually." She threatened. I nodded, grinning as we went back to helping customers, our face plastered with smiles until closing time.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

When I got home, only Jeremy, Eli and Willie sat at the kitchen table. Someone had re-heated the enchiladas that we froze last week, which sat on their plates like dead rubber fish.

"Where's Ben?" I asked, and Eli got up, throwing his enchilada in the garbage. He tossed his plate in the sink with a little too much force, causing it to shatter and making me jump. He left the kitchen.

"Ben's gone to work with Uncle and Kevin." Jeremy informed me after a pregnant pause. I nodded slowly, my eyes slipping away from Jeremy's face and towards his enchilada.

I decided I wasn't hungry.


	6. Chapter 6 - No Missed Calls

~Friday~

Jeremy, Eli and Willie went to work.

The cold I thought I had was real, and I spent the day on the couch.

Pen didn't call.


	7. Chapter 7 - Sunshine and Shadows

Sorry I haven't updated recently! If you guys have any ideas, please leave a review. You guys rock!

~Saturday~

Summer finally came in full swing. Sleeping away Friday had almost rid me of my cold, but today I still wore a sweater with my shorts. Willie had banged on the bathroom door this morning while I attempted to dry my hair, so my hair was left a swirly, curly damp messed restrained only by the thinnest of hair bands.

Eli had woken me up at 8am and kicked me outside, handing me $20 and telling me to get some fresh air today. Then he left with the car. What a poop-sock.

Pen hadn't spoken with me since Thursday, and I was beginning to worry that she was really mad. It worried me some; Pen and I don't fight. I know there's a first for everything, but our fights are always little, and usually revolve around what I'm wearing.

I wander down Main Street. The market's open, so the park is empty. The usually occupants of the park are no doubt running around the candy stalls seeing what their little allowances can buy them.

I take a swing and sit, my fingers wrapping around the cool chains. In the warm and comforting daylight, it's hard to convince myself what I saw only a few days ago in the graveyard was real.

One thing I know for sure; I'm not about to go have a chat about feelings with Dr. Cullen.

I braided and upbraided my hair as I thought about Pen. The night of the graveyard incident, she'd been with Embry. Maybe they're going out now. Maybe Seth's single. Or maybe Seth wasn't interested in looking for me. Ah, all the depressing possibilities.

My tummy rumbles and I glance back towards the street. Perhaps a sandwich from the deli and an orange pop.

The inside of the deli is barren due to their packed patio. I'm glad for the chance to find a seat once I grab my food.

"Hey Maddie!" I look up to find Daren and Blaise behind the counter, grinning their twin grins. They sat behind me in English and made me walk them through the process of writing an essay.

"Hi guys." I murmur, feeling a smile tug at my lips. They're like two huge five-year-olds, Daren actually bouncing as I look over the menu, scanning for the 'deal' section.

"Can I have the regular ham with genoa salami please? And an orange pop?" The two bustle around the kitchen preparing the food.

"I didn't know you guys worked here." I say. Blaise smiles, sauntering back to the cash register with my orange pop.

"It's our uncle's shop. We only started a few weeks ago." He says as he rings up my lunch purchase. Darren sets my sandwich beside the pop.

"Meeting up with Penelope?" Darren asks. I know he's had a crush on her for the longest time.

"Nope." I say, popping the 'p' as Blaise hands me my change. Their heads tilt to the side in unison.

"But you guys are like...peas in a pod! Epic twinsies! The bestest of friends!" Darren cries, pretending to faint into Blaise's arms.

"You guys are ridiculous." I laugh, rolling my eyes before making my way to the little table by the window.

I watch the crowds dissipate as the morning turns to afternoon as I eat my sandwich and contemplate calling Pen. There is little doubt that she's furious with me. There is a slim chance that I'll admit that I was jealous of the attention she was getting from Seth. But there is a snowball's chance in h-e-double-hockey-sticks that I'm ever telling her what I saw in the graveyard. Nope. Nada. Never.

I lay my head down on the warm table top, basking in the sunlight. Perhaps I'll develop a nice tan along with some confidence.

A shadow interrupts my sun, and I glance up and freeze.

"Mind if I sit with you?"


End file.
